Category: David’s Posts

Ok…  There’s a lot going on with starting an English club, and I’m not sure where to start.  A lot is up in the air.

We basically want to start a way that people can get to know us, learn English, and have fun at the same time.  Our idea is to go into one of the college campuses and start a night bi-weekly that we will watch American movies and discuss them afterward.  We have a university in mind, which we might be visiting today.

There’s a Christian university student organization called “SSA” (or CCA in Ukrainian/Russian) that we want to partner with here in Ukraine.  Calvary Chapel has a great reputation with them, and they are having meetings to decide exactly what involvement they want with this.  One of the board members is excited about what we are doing, but he told us that they wouldn’t be able to put any resources toward the project.  They might be able to just lend us their reputation as an organization, so that we could operate “under their name.”  That would actually help a lot here in Ukraine, and that’s really all we are asking for.

Please pray for that and for a projector, projector screen, and sound system with witch to play the movies.

Something has been really hammered into me lately: the importance of language.

I’ve been going with the Pratt boys to an English club on Wednesday nights, and I just went to the corresponding youth-group night on Saturday.  At the English club, kids come from all over the city to learn English just a little better, and then participate in a bi-lingual Bible study.  Very cool stuff.  I really enjoy that, and it helps me to learn Ukrainian.

Today, like I said, I attended the Saturday youth group… wow.  We played a couple of games for about an hour and a half, and then we had a Bible study… all in Ukrainian.  I felt so lost about half the time, and Alex (who was sitting next to me) couldn’t really translate fast enough to keep up with the study.  I realized that I was missing out on hearing what was really going on in the lives of the Ukrainians and that I couldn’t relate to them on a deeper level… at least, not without a translator.

I am studying Ukrainian, but situations like that make me want to study a lot harder, which is a good thing until I start to get perfectionism (please pray for me on that one).

I sooooo want to be able to communicate with these people well!  Jesus, please help me!

Here’s an excerpt from my devotions this morning. Chew on this one for a while.

Psa 4:1 To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm of David.
Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.

It was on the basis of the righteousness that God gives that David was able to approach Him. It was not on the account of righteousness that David had procured for himself.

This is one of the true majesties of God. Other beings are powerful (although none are as powerful as Him, as He created all beings), other beings can comfort or console, and other beings can reason or give advice; however, giving a man righteousness is one of those actions that only God can perform. Any attempt by any other being is useless.

Be in awe of God for this. Be thankful for this. Know that God loves you enough to give His Son for you. Take joy in that fact – you have been reconciled to God! He, Himself, has made the way for you, because you were powerless to do so.

Philippians 3:9, John 3:16, Romans 5:8-11

I just thought that might bless you guys.

Well… I’ve officially broke my cell phone and my camera. Please pray for replacements. I dropped my camera today, making the screen inoperable, and the cell phone I brought with me to use here has a problem with the operating system… it was an HTC MyTouch. Nice phone for the U.S…. bad idea to bring to Ukraine.

Right now, I’m borrowing a phone from the Pratts, and I can still use the camera… but I can’t see what I’m taking pictures of.

I move into my apartment on Monday! I’m so excited. I’ve been living in a hostel across the street from the Pratts for a few weeks, and… basically, it’ll be really good to have my own space. I’m makin’ a list of stuff to buy for it (like sheets for my bed, blankets, pots/pans, pillows, cleaning supplies, laundry stuff, etc.) This is my first time doing this kinda thing, so I’m pretty stoked.

Today, Alex and Josh Pratt, Ryan and Eric Bellamy (a couple of missionary boys from Dnipropetrovs’k), and I went and played baseball with some other missionaries and Ukrainians from L’viv. The missionaries are hoping to use baseball as a ministry to reach Ukrainians and other people across Europe. If they can start a little league here in L’viv and get it going well, they could have the kids play in the European championship (the winner of which goes to the world championship in the U.S.A.).

Please be praying for that ministry. I’m not sure how involve I’ll be. My love for the Ol’ American Pastime is a measly 2 1/2 months old. It was about that much time ago that the Slacks (my Indiana family) taught me how to swing a bat and throw a ball, so I don’t have that much experience.